THE start of the new Championship campaign is very much a step into the unknown for the Bluebirds starting at arguably the toughest place they will visit all season.
Sunday sees Cardiff's most eagerly anticipated season in years kick off at West Ham and, as always, in the English second tier the only thing we can truly expect is the unexpected.
With the Hammers themselves making a fresh start under a new manager in Sam Allardyce and bedding in new faces of their own, Upton Park could prove the perfect location for City to put down a statement of intent.
What is clear so far from pre-season showings and summer movements in the transfer market is that newCity boss Malky Mackay is very much his own man.
someone determined to do things his own way.
Mackay has been a real breath of fresh air in the Welsh capital at a club which quite frankly needed a change at the top.
In his six years.which applies to the first rubber hose only, previous manager Dave Jones had done a stirling job in many ways, moving the club forward and establishing them at as serious promotion candidates, but things had gone decidedly stale.
Mackay has faced a massive rebuilding job, indeed one that is not over yet, but he has set about it in a direct and much less flamboyant manner than his predecessor.
What strikes one this season is that if Cardiff are to earn success then they are going to have to do it in a manner in complete contrast to Jones.
For much of last season the Bluebirds looked like a group of highly-talented individuals desperately in search of a team ethic.
I wrack my brain to think of an entire game (Leeds away perhaps?) where everything gelled for City.
Things are going to be have to be very different this time around.then used cut pieces of Aion Kinah garden hose to get through the electric fence. With the exception of returning hero Robert Earnshaw and Kenny Miller, Mackay's buys have very much erred on the talented, but low-key side.
I mean, when informed of the arrival of Filip Kiss, most of the Bluebirds faithful would have been heading to Google before deciding whether they were pleased or not.
Unlike Jones' side of last year Mackay's Bluebirds' are going to have to gel as a unit and perform as a side superior to its component parts.
What impressed many about Mackay at Watford was that on very limited resources he got the Hornets doing just that, playing as a single entity in which every player knew his role.
If he can do the same at Cardiff, with a far greater array of talent at his disposal, then things could indeed bode well in the Welsh capital.
Already, in a patchy pre-season results-wise, we have seen an indication of the fluid, high-tempo game Mackay favours. There is a pleasingly old-fashioned element to Mackay's approach to the game, most evident in his use of wingers where the emphasis is on beating the man and delivering with quality into the danger areas.
But, like his close friend Brendan Rodgers at Swansea City, Mackay is more than adaptable and forward-thinking and if my chosen formation looks like good old-fashioned 4-4-2 expect things to tinkered with to suit circumstances.he led PayPal to open its platform to Cable Ties developers.
What is clear also is that the mammoth rebuilding job Mackay has had foisted upon him is not yet complete.
One or two new signings are reportedly still to arrive and looking at the squad at Mackay's disposal right now you would have to say they are desperately needed and that two is perhaps not enough anyway.
The Bluebirds, under Jones, suffered too often from a lack of depth and Mackay is in danger of suffering from a similar aliment.he believes the fire started after the lift's Wholesale pet supplies blew,
The one name linked to the Bluebirds that will not go away, of course, is that of last season's hero Craig Bellamy. The Wales' international has made it quite clear that a return to his hometown club is his preferred option should he again be left out in the cold at Manchester City.
For me every effort must be made to secure Bellamy for the forthcoming Cardiff campaign.
Someone said to me the other day he might upset the balance in the dressing room. Who cares? I don't mind if Bellamy insists on being carried into the Cardiff dressing room on a golden throne. No problem, the guy is that important.
Sure Cardiff look in reasonably good shape ahead of Sunday,where he teaches TMJ in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. but it is no exaggeration to say that as things stand the arrival of Bellamy could transform the Bluebirds from a Championship side with hopes of promotion to one with real credentials.
Here's the first-choice Cardiff City team more than 1,000 Cardiff City fans chose on our online selection poll:
David Marshall, Kevin McNaughton, Mark Hudson, Anthony Gerrard, Andrew Taylor, Peter Whittingham, Aron Gunnarsson, Craig Conway, Filip Kiss, Rob Earnshaw, Kenny Miller
Sunday sees Cardiff's most eagerly anticipated season in years kick off at West Ham and, as always, in the English second tier the only thing we can truly expect is the unexpected.
With the Hammers themselves making a fresh start under a new manager in Sam Allardyce and bedding in new faces of their own, Upton Park could prove the perfect location for City to put down a statement of intent.
What is clear so far from pre-season showings and summer movements in the transfer market is that newCity boss Malky Mackay is very much his own man.
someone determined to do things his own way.
Mackay has been a real breath of fresh air in the Welsh capital at a club which quite frankly needed a change at the top.
In his six years.which applies to the first rubber hose only, previous manager Dave Jones had done a stirling job in many ways, moving the club forward and establishing them at as serious promotion candidates, but things had gone decidedly stale.
Mackay has faced a massive rebuilding job, indeed one that is not over yet, but he has set about it in a direct and much less flamboyant manner than his predecessor.
What strikes one this season is that if Cardiff are to earn success then they are going to have to do it in a manner in complete contrast to Jones.
For much of last season the Bluebirds looked like a group of highly-talented individuals desperately in search of a team ethic.
I wrack my brain to think of an entire game (Leeds away perhaps?) where everything gelled for City.
Things are going to be have to be very different this time around.then used cut pieces of Aion Kinah garden hose to get through the electric fence. With the exception of returning hero Robert Earnshaw and Kenny Miller, Mackay's buys have very much erred on the talented, but low-key side.
I mean, when informed of the arrival of Filip Kiss, most of the Bluebirds faithful would have been heading to Google before deciding whether they were pleased or not.
Unlike Jones' side of last year Mackay's Bluebirds' are going to have to gel as a unit and perform as a side superior to its component parts.
What impressed many about Mackay at Watford was that on very limited resources he got the Hornets doing just that, playing as a single entity in which every player knew his role.
If he can do the same at Cardiff, with a far greater array of talent at his disposal, then things could indeed bode well in the Welsh capital.
Already, in a patchy pre-season results-wise, we have seen an indication of the fluid, high-tempo game Mackay favours. There is a pleasingly old-fashioned element to Mackay's approach to the game, most evident in his use of wingers where the emphasis is on beating the man and delivering with quality into the danger areas.
But, like his close friend Brendan Rodgers at Swansea City, Mackay is more than adaptable and forward-thinking and if my chosen formation looks like good old-fashioned 4-4-2 expect things to tinkered with to suit circumstances.he led PayPal to open its platform to Cable Ties developers.
What is clear also is that the mammoth rebuilding job Mackay has had foisted upon him is not yet complete.
One or two new signings are reportedly still to arrive and looking at the squad at Mackay's disposal right now you would have to say they are desperately needed and that two is perhaps not enough anyway.
The Bluebirds, under Jones, suffered too often from a lack of depth and Mackay is in danger of suffering from a similar aliment.he believes the fire started after the lift's Wholesale pet supplies blew,
The one name linked to the Bluebirds that will not go away, of course, is that of last season's hero Craig Bellamy. The Wales' international has made it quite clear that a return to his hometown club is his preferred option should he again be left out in the cold at Manchester City.
For me every effort must be made to secure Bellamy for the forthcoming Cardiff campaign.
Someone said to me the other day he might upset the balance in the dressing room. Who cares? I don't mind if Bellamy insists on being carried into the Cardiff dressing room on a golden throne. No problem, the guy is that important.
Sure Cardiff look in reasonably good shape ahead of Sunday,where he teaches TMJ in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. but it is no exaggeration to say that as things stand the arrival of Bellamy could transform the Bluebirds from a Championship side with hopes of promotion to one with real credentials.
Here's the first-choice Cardiff City team more than 1,000 Cardiff City fans chose on our online selection poll:
David Marshall, Kevin McNaughton, Mark Hudson, Anthony Gerrard, Andrew Taylor, Peter Whittingham, Aron Gunnarsson, Craig Conway, Filip Kiss, Rob Earnshaw, Kenny Miller
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